The logic of transaction cost economics in health care organization theory.

Health care is, at its core, comprised of complex sequences of transactions among patients, providers, and other stakeholders; these transactions occur in markets as well as within systems and organizations. Health care transactions serve one of two functions: the production of care (i.e., the laying on of hands) or the coordination of that care (i.e., scheduling, logistics). Because coordinating transactions is integral to care delivery, it is imperative that they are executed smoothly and efficiently. Transaction cost economics (TCE) is a conceptual framework for analyzing health care transactions and quantifying their impact on health care structures (organizational forms), processes, and outcomes.

Variations in geographical distribution of foreign and domestically trained physicians in the United States: 'safety nets' or 'surplus exacerbation'?

In the United States, a debate has existed for decades about whether foreign-trained physicians (known in the US as 'international medical graduates' or 'IMGs') and US medical graduates (USMGs) have been differentially distributed such that IMGs were more likely to be found in locales characterized as high in need or medical underservice. This 'safety net' hypothesis has been countered by the IMG 'surplus exacerbation' argument that IMGs have simply swelled an already abundant supply of physicians without any disproportionate service to areas in need. Through an analysis of the American Medical Association Physician Masterfile and the Area Resource File, we classified post-resident IMGs and USMGs into low and high need counties in each of the US states, compared the percentage distributions, and determined whether IMGs were found disproportionately in high need or underserved counties. Using four measures (infant mortality rate, socio-economic status, proportion non-white population, and rural county designation), we show that there were consistently more states having IMG disproportions than USMG disproportions. The magnitude of the differences was greater for IMGs than for USMGs, and there was a correlation between IMG disproportions and low doctor/100,000 population ratios. These findings are shown to exist simultaneously with two empirical facts: first, not all IMGs were located in high new or underserved counties; second, IMGs were more likely than USMGs to be located in states with a large number of physicians. The juxtaposition of an IMG presence in 'safety net' locales and of IMGs' contribution to a physician abundance is discussed within the context of the current debate about a US physician 'surplus' and initiatives to reduce the number of IMGs in residency training.

Are there need-based geographical differences between international medical graduates and U.S. medical graduates in rural U.S. counties?

The objectives of this study are to compare the rural location of international medical graduates (IMGs) and U.S. medical graduates (USMGs) by specialty (primary care vs. specialty care) according to geographical measures of need. This study utilized a cross-sectional survey using the 1997 American Medical Association Physician Masterfile for all active post-resident allopathic physicians and the Area Resource File (ARF) (Bureau of Health Professions, 1996) for all active post-resident osteopathic physicians in 1995 in the rural U.S. physician work force (N = 69,065). Allopathic physician ZIP code location was matched to county data using the ARF. The key measure was the difference in proportions between USMGs and IMGs in each state's rural counties characterized by need: high infant mortality, low socioeconomic status, high proportion of nonwhite population, high proportion of population 65 years and older, and low physician-to-population ratio. Primary care and specialty care rural physicians were studied separately. A disproportion of IMGs were located in needy rural counties of more states than were USMGs. Further, IMG disproportions were generally larger than USMG disproportions when they existed. Disproportions of IMGs tended to be located more often in the central and south census regions. Disproportions of specialty care IMGs were more frequent and of greater magnitude than those of primary care IMGs. Variations in the relative and absolute numbers of IMGs and USMGs among the states was wide. Services delivered by active post-resident primary care and specialty care IMGs appeared to be disproportionate to their overall number compared with USMGs in numerous needy rural counties. The extent of the IMG "safety net" presence differed, however, by the criteria used. Still, proposed limits on IMG entry into U.S. residency training may create long-term problems of access to rural physician services absent policies to induce USMGs or midlevel practitioners to locate in such areas. State-by-state assessments of the potential impact of IMG restrictions are called for because of the wide state-level variation that existed in comparative IMG-USMG distributions.